DECATUR - The Treasures of Decatur program is about much more than moving an old building back to a busy intersection, City Manager Steve Garman told business leaders Wednesday morning.

"If that's all it was about, I would be scratching my head, too," Garman said. "It wouldn't make sense.

"This is about changing downtown Decatur. It's about drawing people who are currently passing us, going to lesser (Abraham) Lincoln sites than we have and spending millions of dollars there."

Garman stumped for Mayor Paul Osborne's Treasures of Decatur initiative Wednesday to a roomful of business and community leaders at a breakfast at Tuscany Steak and Pasta House hosted by the Chamber of Commerce for Decatur and Macon County.

His speech received favorable comments from Chamber members.

Osborne proposed improving several downtown sites - Lincoln Square, Central Park and Civic Center Plaza - through a private-public partnership.

The plan calls for moving the Transfer House, which is currently nestled in Central Park, back to its original home at Lincoln Square at the corner of Main and Main streets.

The 150-ton city symbol could serve as a focal point to draw thousands of tourist downtown to learn about the community's Lincoln heritage, Garman said.

Garman envisions the Transfer House having high-tech interactive features similar to those found at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. Tourists then could fan out to learn about the area's Lincoln connections.

The city symbol could help Decatur capitalize on a wave of tourists headed to Springfield, Garman said.

"When they leave, they ask, 'Where do we go next? What's the next thing we can see?' " Garman said. "We want the answer to be, 'Go back to the place where it all began. Go back to Lincoln Square.' "

The city symbol would help calm traffic, Garman said.

"Any downtown except for ours seems to understand you don't want fast traffic," Garman said. "You want people to come here, to stop and get out and look around and spend money."

Paula Finn, small-business council chairwoman for the Chamber, voiced support for the initiative, saying it's about revitalizing downtown Decatur.

Mike Frazier can be reached at mfrazier@;herald-review.com or 421-7985.